1 Hot Topics 1/2010

M a n u f a c t u r i n g & Pe r f o r m a n c e o f H i g h - Te m p e r a t u r e M a t e r i a l s

refractoriesWORLDFORUM

N E W S L E T T E R 1 / 2 0 1 2

IFAT – Entsorga,„A World of Environmental Solutions“07–11 May 2012

Further details available at: www.ifat.de

Fair High-lights in May 2012 in Munich

Spirit and Enthusiasm of theGlobal Refractories Community

Hot Topics

CERAMITEC„Technologies, Materials, Innovations“ 22–25 May 2012

Further details available at: www.ceramitec.de

He continued: “On a visit to United Steel’s SwindenResearch Lab, in Sheffield/GB in October 1961, I had the opportunity to meet the refractories icon,Dr John H. Chesters. Upon arriving at the lab, I wastense and nervous before meeting him, because Iknew he was one of the world-class authorities onrefractories. He had authored a book titled“Steelplant Refractories”, which was well-knownand widely used worldwide, as one of the bestguidebooks on refractories. Dr Chesters welcomedme in a very kind and casual manner. He asked me:„What is your specialty, Mr. Sugita? What is yourjob at Nippon’s Yawata Steelworks?“ I replied:„Steelplant refractories. I am a refractories engi-neer.“ He smiled and immediately said „ ...welcometo our refractories community, Mr. Sugita. You chosea good job – Congratulations !!“ Shaking handswith me, he continued, saying „... refractories arevery interesting and exciting materials for you totackle. And what is better, the people in the refrac-tories community worldwide are nice and friendly.You can make a lot of good friends in any countryyou visit”.Sugita reflected his experiences as follows: “It wasone of the greatest honors of my life to have the op-portunity to talk with Dr Chesters. To be honest, atthe time I was not so interested in the internationalrefractories community, because I had done very lit-tle in the global arena. So I did not fully understandthe significance of what Dr Chesters had told me.

see page 2

A noteworthy memory was created atthe banquet (2 Nov. 2011) ofUNITECR’11 in Kyoto/JP, which de-serves to be highlighted and preservedfor the global refractories community,especially for the people starting theircareer in refractories, and for thoseconsidering a career in refractories.Kiyoshi Sugita (Nippon Steel Corp. –retired; Fig.1) , and one of the key con-tributors to the founding of UNITECR)presented a moving, memorable nar-rative toast at the banquet, which issummarized by Charles E. Semler. Italso reflects how important in a tech-nical community networking skills andsocial competences are.

Fig. 1 Kiyoshi Sugita at UNITECR´11

(Photo: C. Semler)

see page 1

Fig. 2 (f.l.t.r.): Thomas Seger, President of

Forschungsgemeinschaft Feuerfest e.V.,

Stephan J. Eirich who handed the awards on

to the winners of the Eirich Award 2011 –

J. Nakano, V. Stein and R. Guimaraes de Sá –

and Peter Quirmbach, Managing Director

ECREF GmbH (Photo: Eirich)

see page 2

“About 50 years ago I made my first trip to Europeand the USA, when I was 30 years old, and in theearly years of my career in refractories. That trip in-cluded profound culture shock and was one of themost memorable events of my life. Many of my ex-periences on that trip, and the people that I met, arestill vivid memories for me”, stated Sugita.

Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2012

2 Hot Topics 1/2012

As my career progressed, I became increasinglyaware of the importance of the global refractoriescommunity, and the many wonderful people in-volved therein, which is exactly what Dr Chestershad told me”.Sugita summarized: „After having experienced threedays discussing refractory technology with col-leagues from all over the world at UNITECR`11, onthis evening where we are gathered together in aspirit of friendship, we are all experiencing first-handwhat Dr Chesters told me many years ago. In Eng-lish you say “Cheers” for toasting. In the Japaneselanguage, we say “Kanpai”. So ladies and gentle-men, let us have KANPAI to our everlasting friend-ship !! KANPAI !!!” .

To conclude this note, some highlights of John H.Chester’s career are presented, to provide the read-ers some basis for understanding why the young K. Sugita was so honored to meet J. H. Chesters, andnow decades later still vividly remembers the meet-ing.

Chesters (1906–1994), a GB native, graduated fromUniversity of Sheffield in 1928 with a major inphysics, after which he pursued studies in refracto-ries at Sheffield, and received a PhD in 1931. Thenhe conducted research at Kaiser-Wilhelm Institutefor Silicate Research in Berlin/DE and Department ofCeramic Engineering, University of Illinois/US, withfunding provided by two fellowships that he wasawarded. He also met his wife at University of Illi-nois. J. H. Chesters returned to GB in 1934 to man-age the refractories section of the Central ResearchDepartment of United Steel. He was very productive,with numerous papers and presentations about re-fractories, furnace operations/design, etc., for ironand steel applications. He wrote the following twoclassic refractories books:• “Steelplant Refractories”, 1945, 1957, 1963,

Sheffield, United Steel• “Refractories: Production and Properties”, 1973,

Iron & Steel Inst., London, 553 p.He was recognized with numerous honors andawards:

GermanyGustav Eirich Award 2012Two Germany entities, the Maschinenfabrik GustavEirich company of Hardheim and the European Cen-ter for Refractories (ECREF) of Hoehr-Grenzhausenhave announced the opening of a competition forthe Gustav-Eirich-Award. The award is designed to promote the excellence ofyoung academics and support innovative ideas inthe refractory industry. The goal of the award is toadvance contributions to the long-term success ofcompanies in the refractory production and applica-tion industries.

The topics the award organizers want to considerfor the awards are the refractory-based subjects ofraw materials, materials and components, applica-tion technologies, as well as topics concerning thestudy of materials under the terms of "high tem-perature materials" or "the modern refractory." The awards will be offered for dissertations and in-dependent research work with a scientific content.The scientific content can be related to doctorates orpost-doctoral work. The work should have beencompleted not more than two years ago.

Eirich Awards will be presented to three candidatesbased on their presentation of environmental as-pects, energy and other resources; the potential forsignificant impacts in the industry, design and mod-eling for practical application; and the processingaspects of the development.First prize will be EUR 3000, second prize will beEUR 2000 and third prize will be EUR 1000. Theawards will be presented at the Annual InternationalColloquium on Refractories in Aachen/DE on 19–20September 2012.The top three award winners will also present theirpapers as an invitedlecture at that annual meeting.

new

s fla

sh

Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2012

• Hadfield Medal, Iron & Steel Inst., 1946 • Robert Hunt Award, AIME (USA), 1951• Bessemer Gold Medal, Iron & Steel Inst., 1966• Fellow of the Royal Society, 1969• Fellow of British and American Ceramic Societies• Order of the British Empire, 1970 (i.e., Sir John

Chesters)• Benjamin Fairless Award, AIME (USA), 1973• Howe Memorial Lecturer, Iron & Steel Society,

AIME (USA), 1976.In concluding the Howe Memorial Lecture in 1976,Chesters expressed hope that “those of you who stillhave a lifetime (career) of research, development, orproduction ahead of you, will enjoy it as much as Ihave done, and that you will be as fortunate in thefacilities available, and more important, the peoplewith whom you are privileged to work”.

Contributed by:Charles E. Semler, Refractories ConsultantPhoenix, Arizona/US

You are kindly invited to7th International Scientific Conference

REFRACTORIES, FURNACES AND THERMAL INSULATION17th – 19th April 2012, Hotel Palace ***, Novy Smokovec, High Tatras, Slovakia

www.konferencie.net

Faculty of Metallurgyof the Technical University, Košice

3 Hot Topics 1/2012

new

s fla

shThe organizers say that to be considered, interestedindividuals must submit an abstract by 31 May 2012 meeting the following guidelines: • Curriculum description on a single page. • The abstract may be a maximum of three printed

pages. • Two additional figures may be included to com-

plete the abstract. • Text will be Arial font, size 10 and formatted with

1,5 line spacing. • Printed on A4 paper with margins of 2,5 cm. The abstracts will be evaluated by prominent mem-bers of the refractory industry. On the "economyjury" are: • Manuel Miranda Martinez, Fundación ITMA/SE• Adam Molin, REFRASIL s.r.o./CZ • Christopher Parr, Kerneos Alumina Technolo-

gies/FR The "science jury" is composted of: • Christos Aneziris, TU Bergakademie Freiberg/DE • William Lee, Imperial College London/GB; • Jacques Poirier, Ecole Polytechnique de l'Univer-

site d`Orleans/FR. The organizers of this award are Stephan Eirich,Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich GmbH & Co KG/DEand Peter Quirmbach, ECREF European Centre forRefractories gem.GmbH/DE.Further information: www.eirich-award.euContact: info@eirich-award.eu

Germany21st FOGI Seminar: Refractories– Materials and Their Application in Industrial Furnace EngineeringIn the design of industrial furnaces, the structure ofthe furnace walls, especially the type of thermal in-

sulation, is a crucial criterion for the energy con-sumption and energy losses of plants. With the se-lection of the refractories and the wall structure, therequirements derived from the process engineering(interaction between the product – furnace atmos-phere – wall structure, continuous and intermittentoperation etc.) and the energy requirements (mini-mization of the energy consumption) are defined.Knowledge of these relationships is to be explainedto newcomers as well as experience field profes-sionals. The Forschungsvereinigung Industrieofen-bau e. V. (Industrial Furnace Engineering ResearchAssociation) is therefore inviting you to attend the21st FOGI – Seminar from 20 to 21 March 2012 atHotel Mercure in Duisburg/DE. The seminar will behosted by Prof. Bauer, Department of Energy Utilization/Refractories, who has enlisted a team ofexperts including refractories manufacturers and re-searchers. Objective of the seminar is the trainingand advanced training of field professionals.

Further information is available at:www.fogi-ev.deContact person: Dr Franz BenekeTel.: + 49 (0)69 6603 1854E-mail: franz.beneke@fogi-ev.de

AustriaMagMin Conference 2012Industrial Minerals Events would like to invite youto attend the MagMin Conference which will takeplace on 14–16 May 2012, in Radisson Blu Hotel &Conference Centre, Salzburg/AT.The conference is the industry forum for olivine, ser-pentine, magnesite, synthetic or other sources ofmagnesia. The event provides a network with a wide

variety of producers, traders and buyers at the onlyinternational forum for magnesia. Key speakers include:• Paul Schipper, Managing Director, Nedmag In-

dustries/NL• Manfred Hoedl, COO Raw Material and Industrial

Division, RHI AG/AT• Akio Ishida, Director, General Manager of Mag-

nesia Division, Ube Material Industries Ltd/JP • Harald Dittrich, Managing Director, Magnezit

Group Europe/DE• Paul Verboeket, European Marketing Manager,

Animal Nutrition, Brenntag Holding GmbH/DE• Pol Knops, Technical Director, Innovation Con-

cepts B.V./NL

IMPRINT

Publishing HouseGöller Verlag GmbHAschmattstraße 8D-76532 Baden-Baden

Editorial DepartmentKarin Scharrer (KS) Phone +49(0)7221-502-241 E-mail: k.scharrer@goeller-verlag.de

Advertisement DepartmentCorinna Zepter (Advertisement Manager)Phone +49(0)7221-502-237E-mail: c.zepter@goeller-verlag.de

www.refractories-worldforum.com

Reprinting etc.Any type of copying – photocopies, microfiches etc. – or storage in data retrieval systems and any translation, even in part, can only be done with the written permission of the publishing house.

Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2012

Business Development Manager-Refractories

Shinagawa Refractories is a world leader in the manufacture and supply of cutting-edge refractories materials. For more than 100 years, their Australasian operations has provided innovative solutions to key industries including steel, non-ferrous metals, cement, glass and minerals processing.

The Business Development Manager is a crucial figure to the future success and prosperity of the Australian business. Part of the leadership team, you will be responsible for managing all facets of business development and account management, product development and enhancement, new materials and finished product procurement and strategy.

This high profile role will suit a confident and engaging professional, who is highly motivated, resourceful; someone who is commercially astute with the capacity to work across matters of technical complexity. Ideally, you will have a proven technical sales or marketing pedigree, with a background in refractory manufacturing, monolithic end users, cement or laboratories. A genuine passion for science, manufacturing and commerce will be fortified by your robust academic grounding in Metallurgy, Materials, Ceramics or Geology. This role is based in Wollongong; the company’s largest manufacturing centre and regional head office. Wollongong is known for its picturesque beaches, vast escarpment and expansive National Parks, with substantial city infrastructure and temperate climate all year round. Situated 1 hour south of Sydney, this coastal city is an ideal area to raise a family.

Shinagawa invites applications from refractories specialists from across the globe and can support the relocation of you and your family. For company information visit www.shinagawa.com.au and www.shinagawa.co.jp

For information on Wollongong visit www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au and www.tourismwollongong.com

Please apply in confidence to Scott Butler at scott@butlerhr.com.au

Wap

les

1050

4P ©

02.

12

situations vacant

pacities to 10 Mt/a each, while state-owned SAILwill have a total steel making capacity of 19 Mt/a by2013. Moreover, several new units, including that ofNMDC's 3 Mt/a capacity at Chhattisgarh will comeup in 2014–2015.

GermanyALUMINIUM 2012ALUMINIUM 2012 will take place from 9 to 11 October – with Düsseldorf as the venue this year forthe first time. With almost eight months still to go tothe opening, the trade fair already occupies a no-ticeably larger exhibition area at its 9th edition thanits predecessor two years ago in Essen. Currently theorganiser, Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH,records an increase of almost 20 %, with a total of 950 exhibitors from 50 nations expected at ALUMINIUM 2012.The trade fair showcases the entire aluminiumprocess chain – from the raw material to semi-fin-ished products and to finished products for all areasof application of aluminium. ALUMINIUM is organ-ised by Reed Exhibitions in cooperation with theGDA. The SMS Group will continue to support the ALU-MINIUM trade fair in future as its main sponsor. Thegroup of companies which is subdivided into theSMS Siemag and SMS Meer business divisions, isone of the leading suppliers in the field of plant andmachinery for the steel and aluminium industry. Forthe next three events, the SMS Group and the worldfair of the aluminium industry will continue theirpartnership of many years. Further information at:www.aluminium-messe.com

AustriaRHI Takes over StopincRHI AG/AT has taken over 100 % of Stopinc AG/CH.Stopinc produces and sells refractory special prod-ucts for the usage in the iron and steel industry. Previously RHI held a 50 % stake in the Swiss com-pany. With this takeover, RHI strengthens the flowcontrol segment, which covers the regulated flow of liquid steel and nonferrous metals in the produc-tion process. Stopinc is one of the world marketleaders in this segment with its Interstop brand and focuses on special products. RHI will keep thebrand and will continue to expand its activities, es-pecially in Asia, and to invest in research. Stopincwill be maintained as an independent company withproduction sites and sales offices in the USA andChina as well as service offices in Brazil, India andRussia. The company’s 90 employees generated revenues ofEUR 29,4 million in the financial year 2010. In thecourse of taking over Didier-Werke AG/DE in 1996,RHI acquired a 50 % stake in Stopinc.

4 Hot Topics 1/2012

preview of issue 2/2012(extract)

Company Profiles/InterviewsEKW/DE - Liphardt/DE - Gorka/PL - SinosteelLIRR/CN - Blastcrete/US - Lippert/DE -MINELCO/UK - Remsan/TR -Eriez/DE+GB

Technology Trends• Physico-chemical Behaviour of Southern Indian

Graphite Used for Refractory Manufacture(SAIL/IN)

• Antioxidants in MgO-Bricks (Refratechnik Cement/DE)

• Refractories for Hazardous Waste Incineration(Steuler/DE)

• New Perspectives of a German MSE: EKW as aGlobal Player with Innovation and Fresh Ideasin the Brazilian Refractories Market (EKW/DE)

• Matrix Design and Castable Properties (Almatis/DE)

• Stationary Furnace Chamber Monitoring System(Franke Industrieofenservice/DE)

• Industrial Experience with Spinel-bonded Mag-nesia Checker Bricks in the Generator Conden-sation Zone (RHI Glas/DE)

Reports• IREFCON 2012/IN• Freiberg Refractories Forum 2011/DE• Wuhan Conference 2011/CN

Economy & Markets• Development of the Refractory Industry in

China with Restrictions of Resources, Energyand Environment Factors

• Raw Material Strategy for Self-sufficiency ofIndia

• The Success Story of European Refractories

Special Circulation at:IFAT – Entsorga, Munich/DE, 07–11 May 2012CERAMITEC, Munich/DE, 22–25 May 2012ESG Conference DGG Annual Meeting, Maastrich/NL, 03–06 June 2012Global CemFinance, London/GB, 14–15 June 2012

Advertising Deadline: 02.04.2012Publication Date: 02.05.2012Please contact: Corinna Zepter, Advertisement ManagerPhone: +49(0)7221-502-237E-mail: c.zepter@goeller-verlag.deFurther media information on volume 4 (2012):www.refractories-worldforum.com

• Peter Godbehere, Metallurgist, Globex Mining En-terprises/CA

• Elias Stamboliadis, Professor, Technical Universityof Crete/GR.

Benefits of attending:• Attend the major industry gathering for the mag-

nesia industry and network with the sector’s lead-ing executives

• European refractory bricks: Will the market out-look continue to be strong in the current economicclimate?

• Developing more applications for magnesia:Where can we see further growth?

• China: The ongoing situation and the ever tight-ening noose on exports

• Supply, demand and new projects: Gain an updateon where the magnesia markets are heading

Optional field trip to RHI AG’s Hochfilzen Operationson 14 May 2012.

For more information please visit the website:www.metalbulletin.com/EventDetails/0/4526/MagMin-2012.html** 10% discount for Refractories Worldforumsubscribers **To register and benefit from your 10 % discountplease call the credit card hotline on UK:+44 (0) 20 7779 7222.

IndiaJSPL to Add 3 Mt of New Steel Capacity in 2013Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) is aiming to commis-sion new facilities with capacity of 3 Mt/a by theend of the next financial year.This includes commissioning of the first unit of itsupcoming steel mill in Odisha's Angul with a ca-pacity of 2 Mt/a, company's Deputy Managing Di-rector & CEO for Steel Business V. R. Sharma toldreporters. The Odisha steel plant has a envisagedsteel production capacity of 6 Mt/a in the first phase,with an estimated investment of INR 300 000 mil-lion. Besides this, another 1 Mt/a new steel unit willbe added to company's existing 3 Mt/a capacity inChhattisgarh's Raigarh by the end of 2013–2014."By 2015, our target is to have a total steel makingcapacity of 15 Mt/a, that includes increasing theShadeed plant at Oman to 2 Mt/a. All the plants areunder construction and the new units will get com-missioned from the next financial year onwards",Sharma added. Moreover, the company's anothergreen field steel mill at Jharkhand's Patratu, having3 Mt/a capacity, is expected to be commissioned in2013–2014. The Indian steel companies' expansiondrive is now getting matured as many new unitshave been commissioned in last 5–6 months, whileseveral more will be added. The list includes thenames of JSW and Essar Steel expanding their ca-

new

s fla

sh refractoriesWORLDFORUM

M a n u f a c t u r i n g & Pe r f o r m a n c e o f H i g h - Te m p e r a t u r e M a t e r i a l s

Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2012